


Family

by blue_wind_gets_so_sad



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, Once again sorry, The Relationships Aren't the Main Focus Though, albert looks like sky flaherty but the rest are up to you guys to imagine, almer makes a grand appearance at the end, based off of personal experience, defensive albert is a good albert, i call specs tall but literally nearly everyone is tall to spot pffffffft, i love elmer i promise, i'm sorry i had to get this shit off of my chest, it isn't excessive just two or three wordie dirties, romeo is the one jack puts in a headlock, specs is obviously "the boy with glasses", sprace is only implied, tw child abuse, tw flashbacks, tw swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 14:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15463650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_wind_gets_so_sad/pseuds/blue_wind_gets_so_sad
Summary: As the sun started to disappear behind the large buildings of New York, Race made his way back over the bridge that connected Brooklyn and Manhattan. Spot was with him, but he stopped at the beginning of his side of the bridge and watched to make sure nothing happened. Race made it across the bridge but was quickly distracted by the sounds of loud sobbing coming from the alley to his left. He stopped walking and peered down it; the sight nearly made his unlit cigar drop from his mouth.





	Family

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings: Child abuse, flashbacks, light swearing.
> 
>  
> 
> If you didn't read the tags then let me repeat myself: im sorry for this

                Race had spent his day selling in Brooklyn, which wasn’t out of the ordinary. (He spent half of his time in Brooklyn, for reasons unknown to everyone aside from Spot Conlon, so it wasn’t unusual. Sure, he played cards over there a lot, but he was over there even when he wasn’t playing cards.) As the sun started to disappear behind the large buildings of New York, Race made his way back over the bridge that connected Brooklyn and Manhattan. Spot was with him, but he stopped at the beginning of his side of the bridge and watched to make sure nothing happened. Race made it across the bridge but was quickly distracted by the sounds of loud sobbing coming from the alley to his left. He stopped walking and peered down it; the sight nearly made his unlit cigar drop from his mouth.

                Elmer was curled up in a ball on the ground, his hands pressed firmly against his ears and his fingers gripping his hair. The poor boy was sobbing like no one else was around and he seemed to be in pain. Race couldn’t see any bruises or visible injuries, so he didn’t know what was wrong. He swiftly made his way over but slowed his movement when he got to Elmer.

                “Hey, Elm? Wha’s the matter?” He knelt down in front of the other boy and looked him up and down with concern. When he got no response, he softly put a hand on Elmer’s shoulder, but that wasn’t a good choice. Elmer’s hands flew to shield his face and he kicked his feet against the ground desperately until he was farther away from Race.

                “No! D-Don’t hit me, please!” Elmer pleaded, refusing to look up at Race.

                “Whoa, Elmer. I ain’t gonna hit you. I just want to help.” Race held his hands up in front of him and softly shook his head.

                “Please, I didn’t do nothin’ wrong! I p-promise!” His entire body was trembling and every time Race tried to get near him, he’d just back even farther away.

                “Shit.” Race exhaled and drug a hand down his face. He got up and went to the end of the alley, hoping Spot was still at the bridge. Lucky for him, he was. “Spot! C’mere!” He shouted. Spot looked around at his surroundings, then sprinted across the bridge.

                “What is it?” He questioned when he got to Race’s side.

                “It’s one of my brothers, Spot. I don’t know wha’s the matter, but he’s freakin’ the hell out. Won’t let me get near him. I would stay here until he calmed down, but you know it ain’t safe out here afta dark.” Race pointed down the alley. Elmer had returned to his first position with his hands over his ears, but this time he was rocking back and forth and whispering to himself.

                “You said he won’t let you near him, so why would he let me near him? I don’t see how I’m supposed to help here, Racetrack.” Spot replied honestly.

                “I…don’t know either. Only thing I can think of is to pick him up and carry him, but he won’t like that.”

                “Better than riskin’ all three of our lives standin’ out here afta dark.”

                Race nodded in agreement and motioned for Spot to follow him into the alley. They both approached Elmer cautiously and gave each other a quick glance. Spot bent down to pick Elmer up because he knew Race wouldn’t be able to do it. Yes, Race could physically pick him up, but it would break his heart if Elmer started flailing or fighting to get out of his grasp. Spot successfully got Elmer off of the ground after a little bit of squirming and trying to get away and walked out of the alley with Race in tow. A few yards down, Elmer wasn’t fighting anymore, which was worrying.

                “Please, don’t do it. I-I didn’t mean it.” He was frozen. All of his muscles were tensed up, his jaw was clenched, and his eyes were squeezed shut as if he were bracing for an impact.

                “No one’s gonna hurt you, Elm. It’ll be alright. Just a little while longer and we’ll be home.” Race responded, twirling his cigar around his fingers anxiously.

                Elmer didn’t say anything for the rest of the journey, but he never relaxed his muscles or opened his eyes. When they got to the Lodge, Race opened the door for Spot and they both entered quietly, trying to keep Elmer a little calm. That didn’t work, though, when a loud thump occurred above their heads, accompanied by yelling nearly as loud. One quick listen to what was being said could tell you that the other boys were just play fighting upstairs, but that isn’t what Elmer heard. He cried out and struggled to get out of Spot’s grip. Spot didn’t let him go, but he didn’t hold on tight enough to hurt him.

                “I need to put him down, Race. He’s gonna hurt himself if he keeps this up.”

                “Alright, uh…put him down in here.” The small kitchen wasn’t exactly the most _ideal_ place, but they both knew they couldn’t bring him upstairs. Spot propped him up against the wall, but Elmer instantly crawled into the corner and curled into himself again. Race sat down against the opposite wall and put his forehead in his hands.

                “Should I go find Jack?” Spot questioned, wondering to himself if he should try to comfort Race or not. He decided to thread his fingers through Race’s hair a few times. Race responded with a hum and a small smile, then a nod to answer Spot’s question. Spot repeated the action a few more times, then ruffled Race’s hair and set off to find Jack. He took off upstairs and was met by a huge group of boys gathered in the hallway. They didn’t notice him, however, due to the fact that they were distracted by the brawl at the end of the hallway. Spot scanned the crowd but didn’t see Jack. He decided to cross his arms over his chest and clear his throat. When no one responded, he cleared his throat louder. A tall boy with glasses heard him and turned around, nearly tripping over his own feet when he saw who it was.

                “Hey, Jack? We has a visitor.” The boy called out over the crowd.

                “A visitor?” Jack’s voice repeated, although Spot still couldn’t see him. Everyone began to turn around and they moved to the side so that Jack could see who it was. When the crowd was fully parted, Spot finally saw Jack. He was on the ground, holding another boy in a headlock. “Oh. Conlon.”

                “Kelly.”

                “What is it?”

                “One of your boys is downstairs in the kitchen. Racetrack found him in an alley and I helped carry him over here. Race kept callin’ him ‘Elm.’”

                Jack released the boy and playfully pushed him away. “Elmer? In an alley? He okay?”

                Spot’s silence was a good enough answer. Jack quickly stood, but before he could even start walking, one of the other boys was darting past Spot and barreling down the stairs. Jack made the other boys stay put, then went with Spot downstairs. When they got there, Race was still sitting up against the wall, but the boy that dashed down the stairs was sitting in front of Elmer. It was Albert.

                “Elmer? Hey, it’s me. It’s Albert. I need you to listen to me, alright? You’re here in the Lodge. You’re safe. No one’s gonna hurt you here. You’re with me, an’ Race, an’ Jack, an’ even Spot Conlon. No one wants to hurt you.” Albert repeated the reassurances as Jack questioned Race and Spot in the background.

                “I don’t know wha’s wrong with him. I ain’t no doctor. All I can tell you, Jack, is that he was scared. I don’t know if somethin’ happened to him before I got there or what, but it was rough.” Race shook his head, then put his cigar back in his mouth.

                “And you?” Jack turned to Spot.

                “Racetrack was hangin’ in Brooklyn today, so I was chattin’ with him as he was walkin’ back here. Once he saw the whole situation with Elmer, he called me over for help.” Spot skipped a lot of details, but they really didn’t matter right that second.

                Finally, Elmer gained the strength to crack open his eyes. His vision was blurry from the tears, but he knew who was in front of him due to the red hair. “A-Albie?”

                “Hey, El.” Albert quickly maneuvered himself to where he was leaning against the wall and Elmer was in his lap, his left side pressed up against Albert’s body. Albert held him up by wrapping one arm around his shoulders and the other around his legs. Elmer gripped the front of Albert’s shirt in both hands and leaned into his chest, releasing shaky breaths onto his neck.

                “I just want it to stop, Albie,” Elmer mumbled.

                “I know, El. I want it to stop, too.”

                Elmer didn’t respond. He simply leaned in closer to Albert, if that was even possible. Albert closed his eyes and started humming Elmer’s favorite song, ignoring the other boys in the room. He continued to do so until Elmer’s breathing evened out and he sat up. He repositioned himself to where he had his back pressed against Albert’s chest, with his knees drawn up to his own chest.

                “I should probably explain.” He almost whispered, not looking up.

                “You don’t have to, El.”

                “You guys deserve an explanation. ‘Specially you, Albie. You’ve been helpin’ me out for the past few months. You don’t deserve to be kept in the dark.”

                “El, really, it’s okay. I don’t-“

                “I’m explainin’. Alright. I get…I get flashbacks, of sorts. They’re usually caused by some sort of violence. Fightin’ I can handle. I’m fine with that. However, if it sounds like…if it sounds like abuse, then they start. I was takin’ a walk ‘round town before I came back to the Lodge and I heard a woman in one of the buildings being b-beaten by a man. It was so bad. There was so much yelling a-and screaming and just-” Elmer cut himself off to take a deep breath. He released it, then continued. “Before I got kicked out, I had this friend. He was nice and cool at first. We liked the same songs, same games, all of that stuff. Well, he gradually got more violent. It started out with pinchin' me when I wanted to do things he didn’t. It wasn’t normal pinching, though. He left bruises. Then, it turned into hits, an’ kicks, an-an-an-an-an-” He started repeating the word over and over. It was obvious he was trying to stop, but he couldn’t, so he forced himself.

                In one quick motion, his hand flew across his cheek. He stopped repeating the word. No one in the room dared to say anything, but Albert slowly and calmly laced his fingers through Elmer’s. It was calming, plus it prevented him from hurting himself again.

                “An’ punches. He even hit me really hard with a glass one time. I eventually gained the strength to confront him about it an’ we fought. He tried to act like I was in the wrong, but I was smarter than that, y’know? But, that ain’t all. He knew all of my secrets. He knew everythin’ about me. So, the next day, he went to my folks and spilled my biggest secret while I was out runnin’ an errand. When I got back home, they…they kicked me out. Spent the night out on the street, woke up here with Red back here behind me waitin’ for me to get up.”

                They were all silent for a few seconds before Race spoke up. “I had no idea, Elm. I’m sorry.”

                “Eh, it’s alright, Race.”

                “Who is he? Who did that to you?” Albert sounded angry, but he said it quietly since he was right next to Elmer’s ears.

                “Ah, you see, I ain’t spillin’ that part, ‘cause I know you. You figure out who he is, you’ll go tryin’ to soak him and then that won’t be good for either of us.”

                “But-”

                “Not tellin’.”

                “El-”

                “Uh-uh!”

                “C’mon-”

                “Nope!”

                “Ugh, fine.”

                “We won’t ever hurt you, Elmer. We’s your family. Your real one. Real families don’t hurt each other.” Jack added in.

                “I know, Jack. Thank you. An’, uh, Spot?”

                Said man nodded in response.

                “Thanks for gettin’ me out of that alley. I’m sorry you had to see all that. You too, Race.”

                “Hey, it’s like Jack said. We’s your family. We’s here for you through the bad an’ the good.” Race replied.

                “You’re welcome, Elmer.” Spot simply said. However, he added a quick sympathetic smile that only Elmer and Albert noticed. Spot looked down at Race and gestured to the door with his head. Race got up and followed him, leaving Jack, Albert, and Elmer in the room.

                “Alright, boys. It’s time for bed.” Jack walked over and softly ruffled Elmer’s hair, then Albert’s, then left the room.

                When it was only them left in the room, Elmer huffed and turned back around, letting his head fall against Albert’s chest. “I’m beat, Albie.”

                “C’mon. Let’s go to bed.” Albert stood, then helped Elmer up. He then hoisted him up to where Elmer’s legs were wrapped around his waist and his arms were around Albert’s neck. Before they left the small room, Albert planted a soft kiss on Elmer’s cheek. “If I ever come across that guy, he’ll regret bein’ born.”

                “I know. That’s why I ain’t tellin’ you.” Elmer smiled. Albert smiled back and placed another kiss on Elmer’s other cheek, then left the room. It was risky telling them that and Elmer knew it. They could easily flip on him like his ex-best friend did, but…they weren’t his friends.

                They were his family.

**Author's Note:**

> (Okay so no one attack me, but I lowkey headcanon Elmer as an atheist. That's why he got kicked out in this story, and it would also make sense as to why he doesn't go to church.)


End file.
